


Sisyphus Captures Death

by janitor



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Gen, Imprisonment, Pre-Canon, Shoom: the fic, basically the reason thanny's that neurotic about his job, myth adaptation more or less
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 11:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20308702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janitor/pseuds/janitor
Summary: Long ago, a mortal cheated death. Death did not appreciate it.





	Sisyphus Captures Death

Thanatos opened his eyes as door of the throne room creaked open. He had barely stirred for days, lying so still he seemed to be asleep, but he had been awake every moment, ever-vigilant of his surroundings.  
  
Sisyphus peered through the entrance, holding a platter with bread and a pitcher of wine. He cleared his throat. “Lord Thanatos, would you… care for some food and drink?”  
  
Thanatos only fixed his most venomous glare on him. With his sharp, inhumanly golden eyes and inky black robes, He resembled nothing so much as an enormous wounded bird crumpled in the corner of the room. Sisyphus withered a little, then slowly lowered himself to set the plate on the floor. “I’ll just leave this here for you then, if you feel like- gah!“  
  
Thanatos lunged at him. he knew he couldn’t actually reach the king, his chains snapped taut well short of the distance between them, but it gave him a bit of satisfaction to watch Sisyphus startle. A few drops of wine spilled onto the floor.  
  
“I don’t care for your offerings, mortal.” Thanatos growled. “Let me go.”  
  
“In due time, all in due time, I’m sure,” Sisyphus laughed nervously. “But in the meantime, I can at least make you comfortable under my roof.”  
  
Thanatos scoffed, slinking back to the wall where he’d been chained. “I’d ask if this is how you treat all your guests, but I already know I’m receiving better treatment than most.”  
  
Guilt and exhaustion was plain on the king’s face - he probably haven’t slept much better in the last few days. But despite his dark eye circles and unkempt beard, he maintained a calm smile. The man had a face like an open book, and a guileless demeanor that was throughly disarming. _Like a spider weaving a sparkling web to attract its prey,_ Thanatos thought. He seemed so utterly ordinary, yet any mortal who could attract the personal ire of the gods was anything but.  
  
“I understand my reputation precedes me these days. But, please.” Sisyphus bent down again to slide the plate towards him, careful to stay out of his reach.  
  
Thanatos ignored it. “Where does this get you? Do you really think showing me a little kindness will lessen your punishment for imprisoning a god?” He made himself sound more confident that he really was. Gods did not look out for each other, for the most part.  
  
“No, no. Certainly not, my lord.“ Sisyphus raised his hands. “Why, the moment I saw you, I knew that everything I’ve done have come back for me. I don’t expect to be pardoned now.“  
  
Was that genuine remorse, or only regret for having to face the consequences? Fine, if Sisyphus would be so unrepentant, then he won’t stoop to bargaining or begging either. “You had your chance to go without a struggle, now you’ve only doubled your sentence.”  
  
“In my defense, I acted out of instinct,” said Sisyphus. “Can you really blame a mortal for taking any opportunity to survive?”  
  
Thanatos scoffed. “And all your crimes, I suppose they were _instinct_ too?” In truth, he didn’t really understand mortals. He’s seen how life naturally abhorred death, like fire abhorred water, but mortals broke nature’s rule as often as they followed it. The way Sisyphus watched him was wary, but also full of morbid fascination. He undoubtedly lived in fear, yet here he was, too curious to pass up the chance to examine Death himself up close. Even now, Thanatos could see how his mind was still racing, futilely devising a plan to stay ahead. The audacious fool was studying him for flaws, peering at his chains for something that could be exploited.  
  
“I have no defense, but know that I take no joy in keeping you here,” said Sisyphus. “I have children to take care of, and family affairs to settle first. I need this time.”  
  
Thanatos only stared back at him coldly, until he finally lost his nerve.  
  
“I’ll leave you alone then, my lord. I’m sorry for this.”  
  
The door clicked shut and the room fell into deathly stillness again. Thanatos tried to stay calm, to not let panic overtake him. Tried to not think about the consequences of his failure, how every second he was chained up in this room meant he was neglecting his duties. He silently pleaded to the shadows surrounding him. He prayed to his mother and father, to anyone. He wished for sleep to overcome him so that his brother might notice his predicament. But his chains were heavy and unbreakable, and the gods couldn’t see him.

* * *

  
  
To add to the indignity, it was the Olympians who finally found him. Ares had smashed in the doors, and broke the chains that bound him with a single cleave of his sword. Thanatos flushed with humiliation when the war god carelessly tossed his scythe back to him. Lord Hades would surely make him pay in blood, for having to call on his brethren for assistance.  
  
And how he paid. When at last he dragged himself out of the pits of Tartarus and in front of Hades again, Lady Persephone had already left, and the House was left cold by the season’s turning.  
  
“How is it, that a single mortal has given me so much trouble?” Lord Hades’s voice echoed in the hall.  
  
Thanatos said nothing. Everything hurt too much.  
  
“Twice now, Sisyphus has escaped from our clutches,” Hades sneered. “Worse, tales of his triumph have spread far and wide. Imagine what the mortals now whisper about you.”  
  
Thanatos swallowed.  
  
“They revel in their cleverness. A single story, a single failure, is enough to plant ideas in their heads. Tell me, what ought to be done about a mistake that threatens the tenuous balance of our realms?”  
  
“…You must punish Sisyphus,” Thanatos answered, his voice hoarse. “Make an example out of him, show the mortals the consequence of defying death. They’ll fear you more than before.”  
  
“Good, so you have learned something from this ordeal.”  
  
_Perhaps you should have learned to not go against the Fates in the first place_, a small resentful voice said, deep in the privacy of his own mind. “My lord, should I find him again-“  
  
“No. If he values his life so much, then so be it. Eventually he will return to me, then he may ponder for eternity if it was worth the price.”

* * *

  
  
He occasionally flew past Sisyphus’s hill in the depths of Tartarus. Usually he paid no attention, but on occasion he paused to observe from a distance. He never showed himself to the shade, but he couldn’t obscure himself from the Furies who hounded him.  
  
“What a wretchedly boring job, watching that shade,” Alecto complained to him one night, when they were out on assignment. “He couldn’t roll that boulder slower if I cut off both his arms!”  
  
“Hmm.” Thanatos closed his eyes, savouring the cool breeze on his face.  
  
“I’ll make sure to give him an extra hard lashing next time. Just for you, brother.” Alecto grinned.  
  
He tried to derive a bit of vicious satisfaction from the thought of it, but the feeling that came to him instead was significantly more hollow.  
  
Countless more generations of mortals fell to his scythe. He was diligent, impeccable, once again feared and respected by the living, as he should be. Tartarus was no longer filled with the constant cracking of whips, the Furies had better things to do these days. The hill that Sisyphus was bound to was well worn with a furrowed groove. But one day, as he passed by the hill on his way to the surface, there was no sound of stone scraping against stone. He drew closer.  
  
Sisyphus was talking to Zagreus. Thanatos couldn’t make out their words, but Zag was smiling, and standing much too close. He nearly rushed in to protect him, warn him to stay away- but… what was the threat, exactly? He stopped himself. Sisyphus hardly posed a danger to anyone in his sorry state now. Besides, he knew Zag wouldn’t appreciate him interrupting without explanation, and he really did not want to explain the story to him right there, or ever. Zag had always been too friendly with mortal shades, but it wasn’t _his_ place to teach him a lesson.  
  
Thanatos scowled, and left them to their own company. If Zagreus turned his head at the sudden flash of green light, he didn’t notice.

**Author's Note:**

> wow i wrote this all the way back during mdk. sisy and than interactions when?
> 
> i was going somewhere with it but that got jossed so oh well. now it just. doesn't :^)


End file.
